Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
by algie888
Summary: Christmas - a time for family, and friendship, and happiness. Yeah,right. Young!Artemis Young!Wally


**A/N - This was a collaboration between me and one of my closest friends. She's a bit too terrified to upload this, so I've done it. **

Each snowflake is unique. That gave them a sense of speciality. But right now, in this wintry garden, all Artemis could see was monotony - white hedges, white trees, white snow. Everything that was special was ignored.

Artemis was once told that all human beings are special. That they're all unique. But Artemis certainly wasn't special. Special people were loved, special people had friends. Artemis had neither.

She trudged through the snow, each step bringing her further and further away from the prison. Her father had taken her to visit mom, just as a special Christmas present. He had promised not to fight with her, but dad promised many things. To him, promises were like the pictures of her mother - meant to be broken.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light..." She sang, her breath visible as clouds in the frosty air. She fell onto the snow, gasping as her head came into contact with the cold ground. She made a series of snow angels, their wings touching. _Like a family, _she thought, looking back proudly at her work.

"From now on our troubles will be out of sight..." Artemis grimaced. Her arms ached from rolling the snow into uneven lumps. She placed a smaller one on top of that, and the smallest as a head. "Have yourself a merry little Christmas, make the yule tide gay..."

She tugged off her blue wool scarf, winding it around the snowman's neck. "Soon our troubles will be miles away..." After a moment of contemplation, Artemis began working on another snowman, this one slightly smaller than the first. A wife.

Artemis jabbed her freezing fingers into the snow-woman's face, poking in a pair of eyes, a makeshift nose, and a loving smile. She sat down next to the pair, pretending for just a moment.  
>"Here we are as in olden days, golden days of yore..." She flailed in the snow for a second, trying to get up to walk to a small bench. She sat, scuffing small doodles into the snow with the tips of her worn out boots. Artemis cast her gaze around the garden, her eyes widening as the wind carried her parents' yelling to where she sat.<p>

The snowmen were stationed, side by side, as though looking into each other's eyes. The family of angels were holding hands. Why did _they _have happy families? They weren't even alive!

_Rustle. _

Artemis jumped out of her seat, her head whipping around to see the newcomer. _Legs hip length apart, arms at the ready, don't keep your thumb in your fist! _

"OWW!"

She looked at this new comer. He was roughly nine. Her age. He had startling green eyes, and ridiculously red hair that looked like it needed a haircut. Or several. _Red and green. Like Christmas,_ Artemis mused to herself. His pale face was dotted with freckles, and a strip of skin across it seemed much pinker than the rest, from where her long blonde hair had struck him when she had turned sharply.

"Sorry." She said lamely, biting her chapped lip. She tugged at her hair nervously as he scrutinised her.

"Have you been crying?" He asked, looking at her red eyes worriedly.

_Wow, what a genius. _She wiped her nose on her jacket's sleeve, as discreetly as she could with him staring. _Like he's trying to find all my weaknesses._

Artemis licked her lips as the silence grew longer, and she noticed that the boy wouldn't stop moving. He was constantly fidgeting, either shoving his toe into the snow, or wiggling his fingers, or blinking incessantly.

"Can you _stop _that?" She snapped, and he jerked away, as though scared by her sudden outburst.

"What? Stop what?" He asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not doing anything wrong."

"You're... You're... _Moving." _She said, spitting out the word in disgust.

The boy looked bemused, and he rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "And that's... bad?"

"Yes!" She growled, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation. "You don't stop _moving! _It's like you can't stop!"

He fixed her with a stare, and Artemis shivered - this time, not from the cold. "I _can't _stop."

She sighed, and looked over to where she could still hear her parents. "Why are you here?"

She turned back to him. "You don't seem the kind of kid to be in prison."

He laughed, the sound ricocheting through the snow-laden trees. "No! I'm just here with my uncle. He's filling out a bit of paperwork at the moment. And you?" He looked at her, suddenly unsure.

"Uh..." She paused, her eyes glancing around nervously. Should she tell the truth, or should she lie? If she told him, if she said exactly who she was, would he leave? Would he be disgusted? Would he leave her, like all the friends she had ever had? "Cop. My dad's a cop. I'm here to stick around, y'know, the whole 'bring your kid to work' thing." She said, her voice rising an octave. She hoped he wouldn't notice. "What about your uncle?" She asked, eager to get the topic onto something easier to talk about. "Is he a cop, too?"

"Sort of." He said, scrunching his nose up as he thought. "More like a... volunteer worker. He doesn't have to do it, but he does."

"That's nice of him." She said, trying to repress the urge to look back at the prison.

"That's a nice snowman you've got there - but it's a little weird shaped. Want help fixing it? I'm the snowman king." He stuck his nose up, proudly.

"Sure you are -" Artemis paused, realising that she still didn't know his name. "Um, uh..." She said, looking at him awkwardly. "Mister." She finished lamely, unsure of what to say. And that cocksure smirk of his _really _wasn't helping.

"Wally. You can call me Wally." He said, grinning. "You?"

"My name is-" She stopped. _Rule one - never reveal your name. It could become your ultimate downfall. _"Jade. My name is Jade."

"Cool! Like the rock?" He asked, smiling at her.

"Yeah. So, about that snowman..." She said, pointing at it. "What's wrong with it?"

"First of all, you used the wrong snow." He said, straightening up and twirling an imaginary moustache, trying to keep a straight face.

"Wrong snow? How can you use the wrong snow?" She asked incredulously, pointing at the snowmen, "Is there snow I haven't heard of? Is it green?"

"Extremely easily. And no. Experts all over the country use the wrong snow." He tutted, "It's not rocket surgery."

She giggled, and he blushed at his mistake, his face matching the roots of his hair down to the tip.

"You used the powder snow." He said quickly, trying to ignore her sniggering. "Powder snow is great for stuff like skiing or snowboarding, but you want the half melted stuff. That sticks together better. So you can make it stronger." He said, clumping a bit of said snow into his hands, "See? What do you think?"

Artemis looked from to the snow, to him. "I think you're loopy."

He tossed the snowball at her, and she failed to duck in time. It smashed against her cheek, and she winced as the cold snow dripped down her neck. She narrowed her eyes, leaned down to scoop up the snow, and smashed the handful into h-

He dodged. How the _hell _did he _dodge? _

Wally grinned at her, laughing as she stood there, dumbstruck. The melted snow trickled off her neck, and half of her face was covered by slush. He couldn't help it. He laughed.

She stared at him as he cackled, her mouth hanging open. Why was he laughing at her? She tossed another snowball, and another, and another, not stopping.

"Wha- Huh- Hey! Quit it!" He cried, laughing as the snow flew through the air towards him, stinging his cheeks. "Quit it!" He chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender.

She lowered her raised and aiming arm, watching him as he shook off the snow, dog style. She grinned when he shuddered, the melting snow sliding down his back.

"Snowmen." He said quickly, trying to fight off his blush. "Let's make you some proper snowmen."

He was right. It was easier to roll the slushy snow than the powder, and her arms hurt less with two people helped. They fell to the snowman's base once finished, leaning against the huge mound of snow as they giggled. "Many hands make light work!" She commented, blowing some powder snow into his face.

"But too many cooks spoil the broth!" He retaliated, dumping a fistful onto her head.  
>She shook it off, slamming a handful of snow into his nose, "It's war!" Artemis crowed, jumping up and away from him.<p>

Wally laughed and ran after her, his fingers brushing on her wind breaker as he tried to grab a hold of it. She twirled lightly every single time he neared, kicking up snow into his face, giggling when he yelled. Artemis ran breathlessly, her face red and her boots digging deep holes into the snow. She was nearing the boundary of the garden, and Wally was no where to be found.  
>She twisted around, scanning the whole field. The snowmen were intact, and so were her snow angels, but Wally was-<p>

She reeled back as a snowball slammed into her face, stinging her eyes and numbing her nose. Artemis rubbed her eyes, trying to get all the snow out from her face as possible. She shivered, her fingers freezing as she swiped away the ice.

"Hey, you want to borrow my gloves?" Wally asked, coming up behind her. His mittens were dangled in front of her face, bright red and attached by a thread of wool.

She sniffed, wiping her nose with her left sleeve. "Won't you be cold?" She asked, rubbing her hands together for heat.

He laughed, "Nah. I'm always warm." He gave her the mittens, and she sighed when she put them on. They were still warm from when he had been wearing them, and her fingers didn't feel half as stiff anymore. "Thanks." She murmured, relishing the feeling.

"Welcome." He looked up, frowning. "Well, how 'bout that. It's snowing."

Artemis glanced up at the sky, and grinned when she saw the snowflakes falling. She frowned when she heard Wally gargle disgustingly. "What are y-"

Wally was twirling in a circle, his arms by his sides and his tongue stuck out to catch the flakes. "C'mon, Jade! It'th fun!" He lisped, grinning at her.

"J-? Oh." Artemis rolled her eyes, "Boys." She muttered, and then caught a snowflake on her fingertips, looking at the patterns.

Wally looked over at her, beaming proudly at the fact he had actually caught one. He grimaced when he saw her collecting the snow in the mittens, forming a clump in the palm. "Girls." He muttered.

Artemis threw the snow she held into his face, and he laughed as he swiped it off. "What? I just stated the obvious!"

She rolled her eyes. Her head jerked up, and Wally looked over to her from where he was breaking two icicles from a tree. "What?" He asked.

"My parents are looking for me." She said, starting to jog off. "Will you be here tomorrow?" She asked, tugging her scarf off the snowman.

"Yeah, I should be. I'll see you?" He said, biting off a chunk of ice.

"Yup. Bye, Wally."

"See ya, Jade."

Artemis winced as he called her by her fake name, but said nothing. She ran, darting between the trees and snowmen, dodging the family of angels she had made. Artemis almost tripped up over a fallen branch, but managed to right herself before she recieved a faceful of snow - she'd had enough of those today.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad." She said, smiling at them.

Her father grabbed her arm, and Artemis cringed at how tightly he held it.

"C'mon, Artemis. We're going home now." He said, in that low growl not unlike her own.

She looked over her shoulder to her mom, and waved. "Are we coming back tomorrow, daddy?" 

"Sure." He muttered, and pushed her towards the car park. "Get in the car."

Artemis looked around the garden, scanning the area. "Wally?" She called, wincing as her voice disturbed the snow that lay on the branches. "Wally? I have your mittens - I'm sorry I took them." 

No answer. 

Her dad sighed from where he sat on the bench, rolling his eyes. "Artemis, you've been at this for half an hour. The kid's not here." He got up, dusting off his jeans. "Let's head home." 

"But he promised, dad! He said he'd be here!" She cried, trying to tug away from him. "Wally! Wally!" 

"Artemis - now you listen!" He growled, and she stopped. That was the voice she had learnt to be wary of. That was his work voice. "He's not here, okay, and he never will be. You've got to get used to this." He tugged at her arm, "Now let's _go." _

She sighed dejectedly, and walked away from the site.

"Let's get this party staaaa-" 

The briefing and her introduction had been rudely interrupted by _this. _Artemis rolled her eyes, and turned to look at the newcomer, a snarky comment at the ready. 

"-ted?" 

No. No, it wasn't. 

She took in the boy's features. His green eyes, red hair, goblin smile. No way. There was no way in hell. This _couldn't_ be Wally. 

But it was. The hair was the same, his eyes were the same, hell, even his _freckles _were the same. It was here of all places that Artemis met her first friend again for the first time in over six years. 

But Wally wasn't the same kid that he was before, was he? He did leave her that day, never coming back. She had been so disappointed in him for not coming, in her father for not staying, and in herself for even _beginning _to think that she had friends. 

He was also the boy who taught her to build snowmen, and lent her his gloves. Who she had snowball fights with, and could tell her the differences between the different kinds of snow. 

Did people really change that much?  
>Artemis stopped, turning that thought over in her head. Did they? She certainly had, as did her family. But Wally seemed the same - still clumsy, still happy, still carefree.<br>Should she tell him? 

"Wall-man, huh? _Love _the uniform. What _exactly _are your powers?"

Artemis spent the ride on the bioship looking determinedly down at her hands. Megan's attempts at conversation were brutally ignored by the rest of the team, Wally content to glare at Artemis the whole ride. 

It hurt her, it really did, knowing that Wally _hated _her. She had him as an imaginary friend for over five years, and she treated him like her best friend. But to see him hate her like this... It was _killing _her. 

Artemis turned to the side, ignoring Wally's attempts to glare daggers at her. She looked out of the window, staring down at the scenery below, humming to fill out the awkward silence. 

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas..."


End file.
